Pai gow poker is derived from the Chinese game of dominoes pai gow. Unlike typical casino card games like blackjack, this game can run slower and offers a greater amount of playing time for investment. To discover the best strategies for winning Pai Gow, let’s first see how the game is played.

Pai Gow uses all 52 cards and one joker-53 in total. The basic objective is for each player to create two poker hands with the seven cards they are dealt. The dealer places seven face down stacks of seven cards per stack. The remaining cards are not used no matter how many people are playing (up to seven people can play). It is important to note that even if there are only two people playing, one player and the dealer, the cards are dealt as if there were seven people at the table.

The players’ bets depend on their position from one to seven; the dealer is included in the game and the dealer can switch players to any player from time to time depending on the house rules. Betting positions can start with the dealer and then go counter-clockwise or can be determined by electronically chosen random numbers or by a pair of dice.

The object of the game is for a player to create two hands from the seven cards dealt to them by the dealer. The players five card hand is ranked as in five card poker, the two card hand is ranked as pairs or the higher of the two cards. After the initial betting has been made, the game begins with the first person showing their best five-card hand and their best two-card hand. The joker is usually wild. This continues with all the other players until everyone has completed their five card and two card hands. Then the dealer, or the seventh player, takes his turn. To win, starting with the first player, you must beat the dealer’s five card hand and then the two card hand.

If the player’s hands are tied with the dealer’s, the game for the player ends when the dealer receives the money. If the player beats the dealer on both hands, he wins money, less a 5% commission to the dealer. If the player wins one, but loses the other, the game ends in a draw.

Well, to find the best strategy here, let’s see what some experts do. One option is to prepay the commissions, which you are allowed to do. For example, if you bet $100, pay $105. The reason this is better is that it reduces your commission from 5% to 4.76%. Another strategy can be the cards dealt to non-players.

Remember that seven piles are dealt even if there are only four people playing. A player has the option of trading with these unplayed or “dragon” cards; these cards may have higher hands than the ones you have. Also, try to make your two card hand higher than your five card hand. The best source of strategies we found was on Wikipedia1 which explains how to determine your best hand. Experts have contributed to the Wikipedia strategies and we offer them here and we have noted our source in the footnote area:

If a player has no pairs, straights, or flushes, they may place the second and third highest cards in their two-card hand. For example, with KQJ-9-7-4-3 you can play QJ and K-9-7-4-3. There are some minor exceptions to this, for example with AQ-10-9-5-4-2 it’s slightly better to play Q-9 and A-10-5-4-2, but these situations are rare and don’t affect the game much. player’s win rate.

If a player has no more than a single pair, they may put it in their five-card hand and put the two highest remaining cards in their two-card hand. For example, with AQQ-9-6-5-3 you can play A-9 and QQ-6-5-3. There are no exceptions to this rule. This and the previous rule will cover approximately 65% ​​of the hands played.

Two pairs is the most common case where the strategy is not obvious. A player can play a high pair behind and a small pair in front, or two pair behind and high cards in front. The smaller the high pair and the higher the remaining cards, the more inclined you should be to play two pair behind. If his side cards are small or his top pair is big, he must split the pairs. He should always split pairs if his top pair is aces, and he should almost always split if his top pair is kings or queens: they’re high enough on their own. With cards like JJ-4-4-AQ-5 you might consider playing AQ and JJ-4-4-5- since AQ up front isn’t much worse than 4-4; however, two pair behind is much better than just one pair of jacks. A player with jacks and tens might be more inclined to split, because tens up front are much better than AQ. With pairs as small as 7s and 8s, a player might consider playing two pair behind if he can play a king high or better up front. With 2s and 3s he can even play as little as queen high up front. If you don’t have any side cards higher than a jack, you should always split pairs, even 2’s and 3’s (most house forms split if there’s a pair of 6’s or higher, and split small pairs if there’s no ace for the jack). lower hand).

Three pair is a very good hand. A player must always play top pair up front with no exceptions. For example, with KK-7-7-4-4-A he would play KK and 7-7-4-4-A.

If a player has three of a kind and nothing else, they must play three of a kind behind and the remaining high cards in front unless they are aces. He should always split three aces, play a pair behind and an ace high in front. Occasionally, he can even split three kings if his remaining side cards don’t match up to the queen; for example, with KKKJ-9-7-6 it is slightly better to play KJ and KK-9-7-6 than to play J-9 and KKK-7-6. Most house shapes only split three aces.

If a player can play a straight or a flush, or both, they must play the five card straight hand or better be the best two card hand. For example, with K`-9`-8c-7`-6c-5`-4` playing the flush would put 8-6 in front, playing the 9-high straight would put K-4 in front, but the right play is K-9 and 8-7-6-5-4. Occasionally, the player will have a straight or flush with two pairs; in that case, he must play as two pairs and ignore the straight or flush. This rule applies even if a player can play a straight flush; if a straight or flush makes a better hand up front, play that way.

With a full house, a player should generally play the set behind and the pair up front. The exception is if the pair is very small and the side cards are very high; for example, with 5-5-5-3-3-AQ it would be better to play AQ with the full house behind. However, these cases are rare, and a player will never make a big mistake if he never plays a full house behind. House forms generally divide the entire house.

With two sets, one player must play the taller one as a pair in front and the smaller set behind. For example, with QQQ-7-7-7-A you should play QQ and 7-7-7-AQ, no exceptions.

With four of a kind, a player should play as if it were two pairs, but should be a little less inclined to split. For example, with 10-10-10-10-J-5-4 you should play 10-10 and 10-10-J-5-4, and with 3-3-3-3-KQ-7, KQ and 3 -3-3-3-7. Most house forms always split the four of a kind.

With three pairs and a straight or flush (only possible with the joker), a player must play his hand as three pairs (with aces in front).

Pai gow poker is a good bet for your money if you want to spend some time playing a game; there are a lot of pushes in the game. The Americanized version of pai gow poker was created by Fred Wolf in 1980 and has grown not only in the big casinos in Las Vegas but also in smaller casinos in the United States.